Urban Sprout Clothing

A dear new friend of mine recently said that when she is trying to keep something inside, something her spirit is calling out for her to do, her body rebels. Illness and unwellness follow, a sort of pathetic irony of the body. Maybe that's what I was processing for these past months: the desire and the drive to create and to begin something, my attempts at fighting it pushing me to the point of spiritual unwellness and confusion.

Remember how I said that professional challenges have spurred our family to new opportunities? Well, this is mine. And it's pretty exciting, though a little daunting, to be quite honest with you. 

I'd like to introduce my new venture, my first Etsy shop.

For literally years, I've had friends encouraging, urging, goading, and generally cajoling me into doing this. It's taken more than three years, an additional child, one move, one nerve-racking change of circumstance and much apprehension to finally get going. But now here we are, and I'm absolutely thrilled with this new opportunity.

The shop is still very new and not terribly full, but it's there, it exists, and I'm slowly going about the rather tricky business of building a name, a brand and gaining exposure. 

About the garments: currently I'm only offering dresses, though I have other plans in the works. The dresses are based on the idea that when we put a lot of time - or in the case of a purchaser, some money - into a garment, we want to really get our money's worth. A dress that is outgrown in a matter of months feels, to me, like a waste, so my dresses are designed and fit in such a way that they continue to be wearable and fit well for upwards of two years, possibly even more. The photos of the modelled dresses, for example, are 18mo size dresses worn by my 2 year old. They fit like a tunic, rather than a knee-length dress, and look great with leggings or jeans. She can even wear the 12mo size dresses as an apron top (and, toddler-willing, I'll manage to get some modelled shots of that someday soon). Longevity, comfort, and an uncommon sense of style are what I focus on for each and every garment I produce.

The blog isn't going to turn into one big advertisement for my shop, so not to fret about that. But since I write about our life, and this is now a central part of our family's life, I wanted to share. Urban Sprout Clothing has a Facebook page, as well as the Etsy shop: I am deeply appreciative of every follower we have. And if you follow me on Etsy, you'll get immediate updates whenever a new product is added to the shop.

I can't even tell you how excited I am to have finally opened the shop, and I am so glad to be able to share that excitement with you.

blinded by the light

One of the reasons we chose needed to live in this apartment was all the natural light. Every room has at least one window: the dining room and kitchen have extra-wide windows, and the master bedroom and living room even have two and three windows respectively, and south and west facing to boot. After two years in a north-east facing apartment surrounded by highrises, it is amazing to have light pour through our windows, even on dark and dreary days. Glorious.

The living room was outfitted with a rather redundant combination of roller and venetian blinds, as well as some sheers that hung to the sills. Within a couple of weeks the sheers were taken down (we wanted to let the light in, not keep any of it out!) as were the roller blinds. We put the curtains from the old place up on the rods that had originally held the sheers, but they started pulling out of the drywall, and the nature of the room prevents the rods from extending far enough past the window frames to allow the curtains to keep from obstructing the windows. Grr...

After much discussion, we opted to make roman shades. You know, the royal "we". One family trip to Fabricland, one truly fabulous post-Christmas sale, and we had acquired more than enough fabric to make 3 roman shades for the living room. Then began the procrastination. I wasn't terribly excited to start measuring and marking and checking and cutting and pressing and sewing more than 14 metres of straight, boring seams. The prospect was not attractive at all. But now that they are done, I am so, so happy with them.

The upholstery fabric was $3/m. $3!! I lined them with ticking, and mounted them using hook-and-loop tape stapled to 1x3s cut to length and screwed into the lintel of each window. I was fortunate to find this website that gives not only instructions on constructing roman blinds, but actually features a calculator to help with determining supplies and draw-ring placement. I made relaxed shades, which, despite needing to be dressed every time we raise them, I'm really happy about. The drape makes them both a little more and a little less formal than a standard, rigid roman shade.



Now that we have the blinds installed, and we have our new library happening, we can decide what painting needs to happen in the living room. I'd love to get to the point where I can sit down on the couch, look around and say, "Yup: we're done."

The Seed Babies

Sweet baby seed, so small and so round

Hide down deep under the ground

Under the earth you safely hide

Stay there, now: don't peek outside!

I've dug you a hole and I've put you to sleep

Your leaves will come up and your roots will go deep

This is a favourite verse of ours. The girls will often take turns playing the seed, or sometimes be seeds together, curling up on the floor under a blanket while I recite the verse until I say the words "Your leaves will come up..." when they throw the blanket off their back and spring up onto their feet, arms stretched overhead to be their leaves. 

In the past week I've been seeing a popular meme on Facebook, pointing out that the ancient celebration of the goddess Ishtar (pronounced "easter") was a fertility festival in which eggs and rabbits were common images. "So there, Christians: your holy days aren't so Christian now, are they?" is the general impression I've gotten from the meme. And the point is a valid one: the celebration of the resurrection of the Lord isn't as simple as it may seem. But I, for one, believe in a god big enough and interesting enough that She might choose for the whole resurrection story to play out at a time of year where the pathetic fallacy of the season of new life and rebirth can work alongside those same themes within these holy days. So as we have approached Easter, I have been struck by the desire to have any little gifts we might give the girls this Easter morning represent those same themes, effectively bringing our Waldorf living and our holy observances together.

 

I not only brought them together, I stitched them together in felt.

I saw this image on Pinterest and felt an unrelenting need to stitch up similar little Seed Baby dolls for my girls. They're just so cute! I'm so glad that I did, too. The girls love them and I had a lot of fun constructing them.

It's a lot of handstitching. I was able to serge the back seam of the inner and outer face layers, and to stitch the two halves of the body together, but that was all. Every other stitch was made - sometimes painstakingly - by hand. I may have been up until 2am sewing these things. But it was totally worth it.

The way a Waldorf doll face is constructed is quite ingenious. There is something so satisfying about the alchemy of turning a ball into a face just by running a few lengths of thread around it and giving it a stout yank. I foresee a lot of little dolls in our future. Summer flower children, Mother Nature, possibly an entire Nativity scene...

I had also found (again, via Pinterest) this post about felt blanket-stitched chicks, so I made two of them, as well. They're simple and sweet, and a great little project to whip up sitting on the couch or driving in the car. I've developed a new love of blanket stitch as a result, too: seeing all those little stitches lined up neatly in a row is very gratifying.

I'm thinking of putting together a tutorial on the seed babies, particularly since I deviated from the inspiration post and tutorial in several ways, but the tutorial linked really is great, though it is originally in Dutch and the internet translator does make some, let's call them inventive, choices with language. Still, the photos and translated text are quite clear so if you are hoping to make your own Seed Babies, you should have no trouble getting the gist of what to do. The inspiration post for the chicks had a link to the tutorial the blog writer had written, supposedly including a printable pattern, but sadly the document link is broken. Boo. I created my own pattern and I'm very happy with it, so I plan to scan it and post it, as well. For now, though, Easter chocolate and sleep. I think I've earned it!

*****

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19

He is Risen, indeed!

The Overalls of Excessive Cuteness

You may notice a recurring theme in my Christmas gift garment posts.

And that theme is corduroy.

I'm not sure exactly what it is about corduroy that I love so much. Maybe, as one online friend of mine noted, it reminds me of my early-80's childhood clothes. Maybe it's because it's a less-commonly used fabric for children's clothes these days, and I do enjoy an unexpected fabric application. Or perhaps it is simply that corduroy is visually appealing and interesting without being fussy or specifically girly or overly juvenile. Plus it wears well, being both warm and durable, as well as needing no special laundry care. All good things. And it's versatile, too! Yesterday I showed you off a bubble dress for Peanut in fine-wale cord. Today, a garment for Bubby, also of cord, but used in an entirely different way.

I give you: The Overalls of Excessive Cuteness

Lots of credit - and I do mean a lot of credit - goes to Shannon at googiemomma for these overalls. Back in December she posted about overalls she made for her own toddler baby. I had been trying to figure out exactly what I was going to make for Bubby for Christmas but inspiration had not struck. I took one look at her post and a voice in my head fairly screamed, "THAT!" I dug around in my stash and found the most luscious, soft, darkly teal wide-wale cord I had. And that, as they say, is that.

Just as Shannon noted her struggle to get clear, well-framed photos of her daughter wearing her overalls, I similarly struggled. This kid will just not. stay. still. Or cooperate. But at least she's cute.

The overalls came together really well, and I'm pleased with how they turned out. She loves them, which is of course of greatest importance, and they fit nicely. Per Shannon's helpful emails, I used a gusset at the crotch to create the three dimensional space necessary to accommodate not only a human shape but a cloth diaper in addition to the demands of toddler baby-play. The overalls are partially lined - because I had a limited supply of the lining fabric - with a quilting cotton print and fastened with two fabric-covered buttons in the lining fabric. They have a turn-up cuff because a) it gives them a little extra longevity and b) they are frickin' adorable.

They do, of course, have a pocket. Because overalls are not overalls without a pocket, and because where else is a busy girl to stash her Playmobil unicorns and goats if not a bib pocket?

It's hard to beat the sartorial versatility of corduroy overalls. Even little fairies like to wear them.

a bubble dress for Christmas

It's been reeeeeaaaally cold for the past few days.

Last week it was warm. And any Ottawan can tell you, warm weather is not sunny weather. It's usually grey. Warm = grey. Sometimes rainy, usually snowy, but not bright. No, if you want bright sunny weather you have to wait for the cold. And not that sissy, wamby-pamby cold, either, but the deep, down, freeze-you-to-the-marrow cold. You know, the quality Canadian cold. Yesterday we had it and I wanted it. But we also had an entirely trashed living room and a sleep-deprived, under-caffeinated mommy with the temper of a newly-awoken bear in the spring. This morning brought -26C temperatures (that's -15F for you 'Murikans), a bright, unobstructed golden sun, and a well-rested, far-better-caffeinated mommy. Bad for anyone with plans to take leisurely walks outside, but good for me. Kidlets ate breakfast and I hurriedly made the living room presentable. Because I really wanted to show you a bit of what kept me at my sewing desk day after day, night after night back before Christmas.

I can not even begin to tell you how proud I am of this dress. I mean, we're talking way beyond that healthy, "ya done good" sort of normal pride. No, I'm into full-on, first-cornice-of-Dante's-purgatory, sinful pride. I want her to wear this dress everywhere we go and then faux-modestly quip, "Oh, her dress? Oh yeah, I threw that together one night before Christmas. No big," while inwardly yelling "Booya! 'Spect!" Because I'm  all street like that, you know.

The dress is printed fine-wale corduroy, fully lined with a brown and turquoise-dot cotton print (previously seen here and here) with white fine-wale corduroy piping at the waist and a single-button closure at the back.   I used this tutorial to get the general idea, but drafted my own pieces based on Peanut's measurements. I had drafted a paper pattern back in October for Peanut's fairy costume (which I've only just realized I neglected to feature in a post) and used that as the basis for the bodice of the dress. The skirt? Well, to be quite honest I couldn't even begin to tell you the proportions of the skirt. It was late and I was highly caffeinated when I started working on this. I can't remember anything about the math I used to arrive at the drafted pieces I did, and I drafted directly onto the yard goods I used (risky, I know, but I couldn't very well try a muslin on my 4yo and expect to keep it a surprise, could I? And therein lies the terror of sewing surprise garments for older children: what if she loves it but it doesn't remotely fit??) so I can't so much as give you a hint in that regard. Check out the tutorial I linked above: that woman did a way better job of being helpful than I am going to be, I'm afraid. 

But do ogle the dress some more. Oh yes. do ogle this dress.

It's a perfect fit. Perfect. If I had made a dozen muslins and tried it on her countless times before I cut into the cord I could not have made a better fit. I have no idea how I managed it. It was sheer dumb luck (and do read that with Maggie Smith's Prof. McGonagall-voice: it's how I hear it in my head and it's awesome).

Pride aside, though, the very best moment with this dress happened before she ever tried it on. She opened it Christmas morning, snatched it up out of the paper and held it at arm's length and exclaimed, "I love it!! Thank you, Mommy!!" and threw herself into my arms, hugging me. The dress coming together exactly as I wanted it to is good. But making my little girl rapturously happy with something I made with my own two hands? Way better. Way, way better.

dpp 2011 | askew

I was making bias binding at 12am last night.

I may have descended to a new level of sickness. :)

I did it

Despite my lack of planning.





Despite my entirely disastrous-looking sewing room.





Despite my lack of time.

I got it finished.





And she loves it.

There was a lot of dancing in her dress this morning, twirling in her gathered skirt, holding it out to enjoy it.  And The Recruiter and I were particularly glad to have her beautifully decked out without resorting to pink.  Don't get me wrong: I like pink a lot, but why not embrace chartreuse and turquoise with beautiful rich brown?

The details:

• fabrics: a chartreuse tree-print quilting cotton and a brown with turquoise polka dot quilting cotton
• made from The Party Dress tutorial with the following adaptations:
  - I skipped the sash
  - instead of the contrast band at the hem, I knife pleated the polka-dot print fabric and top-stitched it to a 2" deep hem around the skirt

I also sewed a matching fascinator, because who doesn't love a fascinator, right? Here's how:

1. Cut out approximately 20 circles (I used the chartreuse cotton used for the dress). I used a shot glass for a toddler-sized headband. I used all the same fabric, but complimentary or contrasting fabrics, or using various sizes of circles would be cool, too.
   
2. Using your circle fabric, cut out two ovals approximately 5 inches long. Sew them, right sides together, along the two long edges, leaving the ends open. Notch, turn, tuck in the open ends and press.
   
3. Take an elastic headband (I used one from the drugstore, but using a piece of heavy round elastic from the fabric store would be just the same) and cut it. Insert it into one end of the fabric oval base and stitch back and forth to anchor it well. Wrap it around the head that will be wearing it, trim the elastic to length and repeat on the other end of the oval.
   
4. Take your circles and make five stacks. Make sure the circles aren’t perfectly lined up as you stack them: you want to see the circles poking out from beneath one another. Stitch your stacks to the oval base using a mid-width zigzag set to a length of almost zero (you’re creating satin stitch dots in the centre of each circle). Arrange the stacks so that they crowd one another and won’t lay flat: this creates a flowery, three-dimensional effect. Add the stacks one at a time, arranging them in such a way that they cover as much – or all – of the oval as possible.
   

Getting there

It's Good Friday, so we've already been to church (where the readings were moving, the music made me cry - as per usual - and Peanut had a fit halfway through the first hymn) and had lunch and now The Recruiter and Peanut are hanging out together while I finish my lunch and start getting stuff done.

Like this.  I really want to have a new Easter dress for Peanut for Sunday morning.  I have a sizeable fabric stash, so even though the stores are all closed today, I have no issue putting together enough fabric for a 3T dress for her.  Since before Christmas, when I first saw this tute on One Pretty Thing, I've wanted to make it for her.  Do you remember this?




I posted that very picture waaaay back in the spring of 2008 and very little has become of that fabric since then. I made a few little applique's for a tunic dress for Peanut back at Christmas using the green fabric, as well as my little birds, and the brown with polka dots turned into the cover for a dirty diaper bag and a teeny newborn dress for a friend's little girl, but there are still metres left of both.  So here we go: an Easter dress with nary a pink or purple anything in sight.  Awesome!

In other news, yesterday I looked like this:




You can't tell, but I was actually feeling fairly well crippled in that picture.  I woke up feeling particularly motivated and spent the entire day sorting through boxes of mostly crap and trashing stuff, boxing things for donation, doing laundry and tidying and vaccuuming the apartment.  By 3:30 I realized that I had totally overdone it and my back was killing me, but I still had to make the place liveable, so I continued on. Ouch. Despite overtaxing myself, though, I'm feeling good and feeling fairly confident that I'm going to make it to term this time.  Come on, May 1st!!  Actually, May 2nd: we're having belly pictures taken on May 1st. Better yet, May 8th: my Blessingway is on the 7th.  So here's hoping!

And about that dress, the one I need to start right now if it's going to be finished for Sunday morning?  Have a look at my sewing room as it looks at this very minute:




I'd better get to work.

catching up and a new start

Another three-month delay in posting, my my! We had a little excitement in November and December, in that we discovered a rather extensive mold problem throughout our apartment. Ick! So we got to spend the first three weeks of Advent in two hotel rooms and out at my mother and her partner's place in a semi-rural village just outside the city. Skipping the long and somewhat depressing parts, we were back home about ten days before Christmas, just enough time to reassemble our living space from the utter mess it had become (dozens of contractors and a fairly significant demolition required the shifting around of most of our furniture) and clean up the fine layer of drywall dust that was covering everything. Despite the trials and tribulations of the season, though, we had a lovely Christmas.



And now it's a new year, the year we'll welcome someone new to our family! We aren't real resolution people, but I think after all the drama of our little mold adventure - and there was plenty of drama related to our landlord and certain amount of unpleasantness including some mild threats - both The Recruiter and I felt the need to do a little leaf-turning and sort of reconnect with our home. So on Epiphany we followed an old European tradition and performed a door-chalking home blessing. I can't tell you how what a blessing it is to me to see those marks of blessing over our door written in our own hand. It's very...soothing, and it's left me feeling very much as though we've reclaimed our home.



We moved in at the end of June, unpacked, and then lost our drive. By the beginning of September I was pregnant and feeling rather wretched, so out walls stayed bare, our artwork unhung, and the whole place just continues to feel rather temporary. So we're nesting. Well, I'm nesting.



I've spent longer than I care to admit stitching up these little birds to hang in our living room. The smaller, multi-coloured birds are made from random fabrics I had in my stash, and the larger red birds are made from a beautiful mohair sweater that was ruined in the laundry has been beautifully felted.

I'm 23 weeks along in this pregnancy and feeling pretty great. I'll post a picture when I've made myself presentable soon! And I knit something! It's awesome and deserves a picture in good light, which we are sadly lacking on this grey day, so it'll have to happen soon, but not today.